Jim Cooley
From:
The 'Ville, Texas, USA
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Posted 16 Dec 2022 9:00 am |
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[/b]Background[/b]
This has been a long time coming. I apologize to Tommy Huff for the delay; life...and other flimsy excuses...I also apologize for the length of this posting. However, I have already had several questions form those who know about this and I suspected there would be more, so I tried to cover as many bases as possible up front.
My preferred steel guitar amplifier configuration is the Quilter Tone Block 202 amplifier head mounted inside the Quilter Block Dock 12 cabinet with an Eminence TT12 speaker. My only complaint about that configuration is that the 202 head mounts at the back of the Quilter cabinet, facing upward. That design makes it necessary to get up from the behind the steel and reach to the back side of the cabinet in order to adjust the EQ. It’s a minor inconvenience in many cases, but it does make on-the-fly EQ adjustments difficult. While at this year’s Texas Steel Guitar Association Jamboree, I spoke to Tommy Huff about building a cabinet for my Quilter Block Dock 12, in which the Tone Block 202’s head mounts in the front of the cabinet, facing forward. I explained that even though EQ adjustments are inconvenient with the factory design, there is something special about the sound that results from the configuration. I told him that I was concerned that any change in the design might negatively affect the tone. Tommy listened patiently to my idea and concerns. We were able to look at a 12” Quilter Block Dock cabinet that another player had in a nearby room, so that Tommy could see what I was talking about.
Quilter’s factory design results in an open/closed back cabinet. It was immediately apparent that the Tone Block 202 head would have to mount different from the factory cabinet in order to accommodate the forward-facing design. That would change the internal configuration, as well as the total air space inside the cabinet. I told Tommy that I was willing to have him build a cabinet in which the amplifier head faces forward, providing that he was reasonably confident that he could do so without a negatively affecting the tone. Tommy said he was confident that he could make the design modifications necessary to mount the head facing forward in the front of the cabinet, while maintaining the tonal quality.
Cabinet Specifications
The Tommy Huff cabinet is constructed of baltic birch. It has the same width and depth dimensions as the Quilter Block Dock cabinet. The Huff cabinet is 2” taller than the Quilter. That was necessary because of the change in the head mounting location. According to my digital bathroom scale, the Huff cabinet and the Quilter cabinet are almost exactly the same weight.
Test Parameters
Since receiving the new cabinet, I performed a relatively extensive comparison of the factory Quilter Block Dock 12 cabinet and the Tommy Huff cabinet. I wanted the test to be as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as reasonably possible. Both cabinets have Eminence TT12 speakers. Both speakers are broken in. I played through one formica clad SD10 all pull steel, two D10 formica clad all pull steels, one maple bodied SD10 all pull steel, and two formica Emmons push pulls. One of the push pulls is a fatback cuttail with Emmons single coil pickups at approximately 17.8k Ohms. The other push pull is a wraparound with Emmons single coil pickups at 15k Ohms. The all pull steels have same manufacturer/model pickup. I also tried an alternate pickup in the wood bodied SD10. I played the same songs on the E9 neck on all steels in order to remain consistent. These allowed a tonal range from open 10th string to the 23rd fret on strings three and five. I used the same active volume pedal, effects, cables, picks, and bar during all testing. The steel and cabinet locations were the same during all comparisons. The cabinets were sitting on an amp stand, ten feet in front of and facing me, aimed slightly off axis. The amp stand elevates the bottom of the cabinet 18” off the floor, and at a somewhat upward facing angle. I did not perform any comparisons with the cabinets sitting on the floor. I played through one cabinet immediately after the other, alternating which cabinet I played through first. My signal chain was STEEL > SARNO BLACK BOX > VOLUME PEDAL > EFFECTS UNIT > AMPLIFIER. During the majority of the testing, I used a little amplifier reverb, supplemented by a touch of reverb and delay from the effects unit. I used the same amplifier EQ settings during the vast majority of the tests, only occasionally making minor EQ adjustments to compensate for different steels. I played all steels with those same settings after I made EQ adjustments. Results remained consistent. I made subtle changes in the Black Box’s Vari Z setting from time to time, just to see whether the end results varied. They did not. I also removed the Black Box from the signal chain with no difference in results. I did the same with the reverb/delay unit, turning off reverb and delay both individually and in combination. The overall results remained consistent. I also removed both the Black Box and effects unit from the signal chain and played STEEL > VOLUME PEDAL > AMP with no noticeable change in the overall results. The only real variable was the strings on each steel. The string sets on all steels used in testing are stainless wound except for those on one of the Emmons push pulls, which are nickel wound. Strings are not all are not the same brand. Some of the string sets are older than others. I repeated the tests several times over a lengthy period of time in order to “rest” my ears. PLEASE keep in mind that this is my perception of the tonal differences of the two cabinets. It is not a review of the Quilter Tone Block 202. Since tone is entirely subjective, comparative results are subjective according to my ears, in my physical environment. Your perception might therefore be different from mine…or not. As one of our esteemed forum members says, and with whom I agree, “everything affects everything.”
Results (According to My Ears)
I like to believe that my ears are able to detect most subtle tonal differences. The Quilter cabinet seems to produce rounder lows, more pronounced and somewhat more compressed mids, and slightly smoother highs than the Huff cabinet. The Huff cabinet produces tighter lows and slightly smoother, more open sounding mids, with highs not quite as glassy as the Quilter Block Dock cabinet. The Huff’s highs are not piercing, just not quite as smooth to my ears. I was able to tighten the Quilter’s lows by cutting the Bass and/or slightly increasing the Treble and/or Mids. The Quilter’s Mids can be EQ’d close to the Huff cabinet’s Mids. I was able to smooth out the Huff cabinet’s highs by cutting the Treble and/or Mid to taste. This doesn’t mean that the two cabinets can be made to produce identical tone, just that there is flexibility. Keep in mind that the Quilter’s tone stack in the Vintage mode is based on the classic Fender tone stack, so adjustments in Treble also affect the Mids and vice versa.
Conclusion
The Tommy Huff cabinet meets or exceeds my expectations. The build quality is outstanding. As stated above, the tone is not identical to the factory Block Dock, but I didn’t expect it to be. Since the materials and dimensions differ, exact duplication seems unrealistic and impossible. If I were to do one thing differently, I would add tilt back legs to the Huff cabinet. My Quilter Block Dock cabinet doesn’t have them, and since I always use an amp stand whenever possible, they haven’t been necessary. However, it would be a nice feature in case I don’t have room for the amp stand, or if I want to use two cabinets.
About the Builder
Tommy Huff is a pleasure to work with. We spoke on the phone on several occasions to make sure we understood the process. He called or texted me numerous times in order to update me on build status or review build specifications. His attention to both detail and quality are beyond commendable. Tommy did not take shortcuts to save time or to compromise the quality of the materials and components.
I have been asked about the cost of my new cabinet. Considering the fact that supply costs constantly change, any design changes others might request, and that my cabinet is the first one of its kind, I do not believe it appropriate to discuss cost. It might not be fair to you or Tommy. I’m sure Tommy will be happy to quote you a price.
Thank you, Tommy, for a quality product and outstanding customer service.
Last edited by Jim Cooley on 17 Dec 2022 4:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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